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ASHTEAD WI
Past Meetings
2019
January Meeting 2019
It was lovely to see such a big turnout for the first meeting of 2019, especially as it was so soon after the festivities. Being the Resolutions meeting members voted for one of the six proposals.
Our speaker John Negus gave a talk " Twelve Months of Colour" illustrated with slides. He divided us into two teams and enthusiastically fired questions at us to keep us on our toes.
Some horticulturally minded members won books and packets of seeds by answering correctly.
The meeting was rounded off with us all linking arms around the Hall in a large circle and singing Auld Lang Syne in the traditional way. A lovely start to 2019.
Fiona Porter.
February Meeting 2019
We were very pleased to welcome three visitors to our well attended February meeting. The speaker this evening was Biff Raven Hill talking about "The Wartime Housewife". Biff regaled us with anecdotes about her mother and grandmother and how they coped with rationing and shortages during the war. She described how parsnip was used as a substitute for banana and how "duck" was made from boiled, mashed lentils both of which sounded unappetising to the audience.
Her finale was to produce 12 antique items from the war years for members to identify, some of which caused much hilarity.
March Meeting 2019
When our 70 members arrived they found all the tables decorated with a spring potted plant. We were also pleased to give a special welcome to a new member and four visitors.
Our speaker Angela Young's talk was "The Aristocrat, the Able Seaman and the tragic sinking of the Titanic". This talk illustrated with slides and letters was a particularly personal account as the aristocrat was the speaker's great-grandmother the Countess of Rothes. When the Titanic hit the iceberg she took to lifeboat number 8 manned by Able Seaman Thomas Jones. With her knowledge of sailing and of boats in general she was able to help Jones not only by manning the tiller but rowing as well to reach the rescue ship RMS Carpathia. When on board the Carpathia, Jones took the two number 8s from his lifeboat and sent one on a plaque to Lady Rothes. The unlikely pair kept in touch until the Countess' death in 1956. Angela's talk was very interesting and very atmospheric.
In February the coffee morning had been very well attended and raised £164.79 for our funds.
We learned that there will be an Emlyn Downs' lunch on 13th March, the SFWI Annual Meeting on 18th March and an outing to Hatfield House in April.
The evening concluded with the drawing of the Raffle which included all the table decorations and we were reminded that the April meeting will be in the Ralli Room at the Peace Memorial hall.
Fiona Porter
April Meeting 2019
Pat Mitchinson was our speaker this April. A former planner with the BBC her very interesting talk "Everyone Has a Story to Tell" told how the programme "Who Do You Think You Are" came into being.
The initial idea came in 2003. The BBC began collecting stories from the surviving World War 2 generation to mark in 2005 the 60th anniversary of the end of the war. This led to thinking along the lines of a family / social history series and whether such a programme could be made that would appeal to viewers. Well, as they say, the rest is history.
Having started life on BBC2 the shows popularity led to it being moved mainstream on to BBC1. The fifteenth series was shown last summer with a sixteenth due later this year. It has also helped lead to an increase in people who have taken up genealogy, researching their own family history.
May Meeting 2019
We were back in the Main Hall for our Resolution meeting and were delighted to welcome Judith Bartley who is the President of Leigh. Judith will be our delegate at the NFWI Annual Meeting in Bournemouth on the 5 June. The two Resolutions, “Don’t Fear the Smear’ and ‘A call against the decline in Local Bus Services’ both received unanimous votes to go forward to the Annual Meeting.
As it was the 1st of May we had a Spring theme in evidence---with pastel pots of flowers on each table. One member had made a very pretty posy fit for a May Queen and another had beautifully decorated a straw hat.
Our speaker, Jo Mabbutt, gave us an intriguing insight into the effect of colour and its impact on our lives.There was a great variety of books to choose from on our book stall ,the proceeds of the book sale going to ACWW
We are planning an outing to Arundel Cathedral on the 19 June to see ‘The Carpet of Flowers’, followed by a cream tea which will be provided by some of the ladies of Sidlesham WI.
June Meeting 2019
Dr Geoffrey Mead was our speaker this month. His talk "Resorting to the Coast" was wide ranging. He gave an account of how the sea and the old well known resorts that developed around our coast came into being. Often what we now know as large towns by the sea were way back in the late 1700s small fishing villages or hamlets. Of course, this was before the railway came into being and opened up some of these seaside places, where the better off could spend time away from the polluting air of the major cities. It's now hard for us to imagine a place like Brighton ever being a small hamlet nestling by the sea!
July Meeting
A Summer Celebration with a seaside theme for our last meeting before the August break. Members joined in the various activities. A number came dressed for the part including one who became known as Miss Southend! A good time was had by all.
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September Meeting
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As summer ends and after the August break we moved into Autumn and our September meeting with a truly magical evening where our speaker regaled us with her career as a Tiller Girl and later as an actress. Some members volunteered to try their hand at a fairly simple routine but I think it is fair to say that none managed to kick a leg up in the way our speaker Jackie did. A skill she has maintained from the beginning of her career right through to the present time.
October Meeting
Our speaker was Ian Currie and his subject was "The History of Weather Forecasting" from Aristotle to TV weather.
An interesting talk accompanied by slides as to the origins of weather forecasting right through to the present day where satellites' now give advanced weather patterns and predictions. However, we were unable to establish whether we are definitely due snow at some point this winter!
November Meeting
We held our AGM this evening, a well attended event. After the business side of the meeting was completed the members enjoyed a fun quiz.
December Meeting
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Our last meeting of the year involved our members using their craft skills making Christmas Trees! Even those of us who are not natural makers of things managed successfully to undertake this. One of our members made mince pies, which went down very well. A jolly good evening enjoyed by all.
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